3834 replies to this topic

[pogen]

Sam is tomorrow evening,

Sam's French is excellent, you should innerview her in her adopted language as an appropriate handicap! Give her our best wishes from the SA multitudes.

[Left Hook]

Listening to all of this stuff about environmentally clean sailing and the changing role of sponsors reminded me of a quote from Wind. Who coulda known that they would have pegged it nearly 2 decades ago?

Crazy Designer - When big companies become rich, they want to become respectable. So what do we got to sell that can make them look more respectable?
Overly-Dramatic Girlfriend - Well lets face it, what we're doing here is not about saving the world or curing cancer - it's just about good, clean fun.
Crazy Designer - Well that's it, that's it. Clean! A white sail on a blue sea, what's more clean than that? But we can't do it on the phone, we gotta do it in the flesh, we gotta go on the hustle.

[jrenedo]

speng i think you're right about joyon

i wouldnt blame acciona for having gas to cook, i think she still deserves to be called eco-powered (maybe 99.9 % tough:) because obviously the point is to have eco source of energy for navigation/communication systems and propulsion if needed, i mean the boat is eco-powered, the skipper isn't

but that's only my humble opinion

the question is will she be able to motor 1000 miles if for example dismasted somewhere 1000 miles off australia or new zealand? maybe if sunny and windy but otherwise? really, what are sun panels and wind generators capable of in terms of providing power for two electrical motors each rating maybe 10 or 20 kW?

of course, same question stands for other boats with diesel engine as they're taking only 100-150 litres of diesel for generating electricity
how did loick last time reach australia, jury rig or being towed or...?

Imoca rules are: boats must be able to sail at least 5 hours at a minimum speed of 5 knots, and then the pull test as explained here .



One question I have in mind.. what happens with a boat 1 mile before crossing the finish line? if they only have a few liters of diesel left, they wont be able to motor for 25 miles at 5 knots?

None of them are able to sail under engine ( diesel or electric) much more than that , the have to use jury rigs for sure, and the closer to the finish line the less diesel or battery power they have...
Thats the reason why Acciona has a fuel cell , in case of going low on batteries , the cell can charge them up.

[Potter]

Jrenedo - A lot of boats finish without the correct equipment on board (keels...). So by that point they trends to apply common sense.

[Icedtea]

Ha!!! Very true potter.... wonder will all keels stay attached this time round?

If I was Thompson I'd be kind of worried, keel and mast are the only things that haven't broke on that boat yet...

[ronnie_simpson]

lots and lots of activity today here in Les Sables.

Check out the massive crowds! They are growing day by day. I can't even imagine what Thursday and Friday will be like, let alone Saturday for the start.

The tiniest boat to ever sail solo non-stop around, sitting next to the first boat to ever sail solo non-stop around. Alessandro di Benedetto's "Findomestic Banca" sitting next to Sir Robin Knox Johnston's "Suhaili". Haven't managed to get a tour of Suhaili yet, but we did get a tour of Joshua and will be uploading the video later.

View from Chateaux de Anarchy this morning. Groupe Bel and Bureau Vallee sailing, as well as SAFRAN and Hugo Boss spotted on the water.

Alessandro di Benedetto's "Team Plastique" leaving the harbor to do some testing. Check out the guy up the rig in the photo.


Today, Clean and I are interviewing Sam Davies and the only past Vendee winner in this year's fleet: PRB's Vincent Riou. Hopefully will get a tour of PRB on video. It is one of the craziest, most extreme boats here.

Lots more video to upload!

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[ET1]

On top of Clean´s and Ronnie´s very good work here you can find great interviews on the vendeeglobe-site in English. Just in case someone didn´t find them yet

[MR.CLEAN]

post a link ET

[MR.CLEAN]

Anyone got any questions for Sam?

[MR.CLEAN]

serious:

I am offering a Sailing Anarchy belt or shirt (your choice) to the anarchist that posts the most usefullinks to videos or stories. Don't care where they are from...

[steinbrenner]

for sam: what does she think why she's the only woman in the fleet and why so few women in the sport?

for ronnie: i'd like to know how the toilette looks like in one of your next boat tours

[nkb]

for sam: what does she think why she's the only woman in the fleet and why so few women in the sport?

for ronnie: i'd like to know how the toilette looks like in one of your next boat tours

RE: toilette... They pretty much all look like this -

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[MR.CLEAN]

Here's a little look through Joshua and some Suhaili. Translation by Nicola Breymaier.

[ronnie_simpson]

for sam: what does she think why she's the only woman in the fleet and why so few women in the sport?

for ronnie: i'd like to know how the toilette looks like in one of your next boat tours

RE: toilette... They pretty much all look like this -

ding ding ding!!!! I have toured about 9 IMOCA's here so far and have yet to see a toilet

[MSafiri]

Here's a little look through Joshua and some Suhaili. Translation by Nicola Breymaier.

Clean,

These boats, at least for me, are as interesting as the new ones. Thanks alot for the short video.

Just to make the story full....................................

[trimfast]

for sam: what does she think why she's the only woman in the fleet and why so few women in the sport?

for ronnie: i'd like to know how the toilette looks like in one of your next boat tours

RE: toilette... They pretty much all look like this -

ding ding ding!!!! I have toured about 9 IMOCA's here so far and have yet to see a toilet

I think they all should use these http://www.bumperdumper.com hang them off the stern and let it rip. I am sure they could get them in carbon

[solosailor]

Done on an Antrim 27 before..... a Pacific Ocean bidet:

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[Jambalaya]

serious:

I am offering a Sailing Anarchy belt or shirt (your choice) to the anarchist that posts the most usefullinks to videos or stories. Don't care where they are from...

I'll be in Sables on Thursday, hope to catch up with you guys, I'm available for beverages. For some reason I don't understand I agreed to deliver a Class 40 back to Hamble on Friday.

In terms of videos and based upon your statement that Ronnie needs to work on his French here is a tutorial

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=GSeaDQ6sPs0

[ronnie_simpson]

Jambalaya, just let us know when you get to town. Clean and i have been known to enjoy a beverage or nine since we've been here.

Interview with Sam was fantastic but had to cut it a bit short so she could do a press conference. hands down most popular skipper here. The French have full-on adopted her as one of their own. And for good reason, Clean and I both are much bigger sam davies fans than before. What a charming lady!

Just did interview with Vincent Riou and toured PRB. going to edit the quick tour asap. that boat is crazy extreme. most extreme boat in the fleet. and the lightest, although no one will say how much it actually weighs....

[Jambalaya]

ronnie - will do I mailed Mr C too.

Don't understand how you guys weren't massive fans of Sam before, she's absolutely charming, very smart and sails rtw solo, what's not to like. Might be the highlight of my sailing career receiving my season trophy for the RSYC 2-handed series many years ago.

[oioi]

Ronnie's Hugo Boss boat tour

Wheres this vid gone? Was looking forward to watching it?

[Reto]

From the front page:

SHOW US YOUR BUBI

Javier “Bubi” Senso has a good chance of doing something no one in history has done – his Open 60 “Acciona 100% Ecopowered” has no engine, no genset, and no hydrocarbon fuel of any kind. If Bubi finishes the 2012 Vendee Globe, he’ll be the first person ever to sail around the world without using a drop of diesel, gas, kerosene, propane, or anything else made from dead dinosaurs. It’s an impressive goal – something others have tried to do and failed – and Bubi and his sponsors will be real winners if they can just get ‘round.

Clean grabbed Bubi to talk all about his systems, his goals, and his dog. It’s a nice chat from one of the nicest guys in the sport.

This was super interesting. I like very much.

Does anyone know where I can get more info on the nitty gritty technical details of the power systems on Acciona? It sounds like he's got a fuel cell system on board along with the solar/wind/hydros, true? What's the drive for the propellor? I'd love to know how it's all connected, controlled, spec'd, and who makes all the parts. I scoured both the accionasailing.com and acciona.com without much success.

[JaredC]

Ronnie's Hugo Boss boat tour

Wheres this vid gone? Was looking forward to watching it?

Still works for me, I just watched it.

[Tom O'Keefe]

From the front page:

SHOW US YOUR BUBI

Javier “Bubi” Senso has a good chance of doing something no one in history has done – his Open 60 “Acciona 100% Ecopowered” has no engine, no genset, and no hydrocarbon fuel of any kind. If Bubi finishes the 2012 Vendee Globe, he’ll be the first person ever to sail around the world without using a drop of diesel, gas, kerosene, propane, or anything else made from dead dinosaurs. It’s an impressive goal – something others have tried to do and failed – and Bubi and his sponsors will be real winners if they can just get ‘round.

Clean grabbed Bubi to talk all about his systems, his goals, and his dog. It’s a nice chat from one of the nicest guys in the sport.

This was super interesting. I like very much.

Does anyone know where I can get more info on the nitty gritty technical details of the power systems on Acciona? It sounds like he's got a fuel cell system on board along with the solar/wind/hydros, true? What's the drive for the propellor? I'd love to know how it's all connected, controlled, spec'd, and who makes all the parts. I scoured both the accionasailing.com and acciona.com without much success.

As I recall they went through quite a bit of the information you are asking for in the video interview. I think they said that the primary propulsion was two electric golf cart motors. They said they tried to use primarily off the shelf stuff. They did not want to go for an exotic expensive system. They've got one fuel cell, one wind genrator with spare blades, two seperate solar systems with something like sixteen panels, and two hydrogenerators.

[ronnie_simpson]

Does anyone know where I can get more info on the nitty gritty technical details of the power systems on Acciona? It sounds like he's got a fuel cell system on board along with the solar/wind/hydros, true? What's the drive for the propellor? I'd love to know how it's all connected, controlled, spec'd, and who makes all the parts. I scoured both the accionasailing.com and acciona.com without much success.

i will take a photo of their press kit. the Propeller is powered by a 48-volt electric inboard engine weighing just 26 kilos. There is 1 wind generator, 2 hydros and about 120 sq. feet of solar panels that is divided into 11 separate solar arrays. The hydrogen fuel cell is strictly a back up. Emergency use, if you will. It is just to be able to use the electric inboard engine for the race required 5 knots at 5 hours if everything fails and he can't charge the batteries. speaking of batteries, they are lithium-ion batteries in a 48 volt system with 12 and 24 volt converters. let me know if you have more questions.

[Reto]

As I recall they went through quite a bit of the information you are asking for in the video interview. I think they said that the primary propulsion was two electric golf cart motors. They said they tried to use primarily off the shelf stuff. They did not want to go for an exotic expensive system. They've got one fuel cell, one wind genrator with spare blades, two seperate solar systems with something like sixteen panels, and two hydrogenerators.

i will take a photo of their press kit. the Propeller is powered by a 48-volt electric inboard engine weighing just 26 kilos. There is 1 wind generator, 2 hydros and about 120 sq. feet of solar panels that is divided into 11 separate solar arrays. The hydrogen fuel cell is strictly a back up. Emergency use, if you will. It is just to be able to use the electric inboard engine for the race required 5 knots at 5 hours if everything fails and he can't charge the batteries. speaking of batteries, they are lithium-ion batteries in a 48 volt system with 12 and 24 volt converters. let me know if you have more questions.

thanks.

I also found this in cruisng anarchy, pretty good synopsis:

http://www.accionasa.../Acciona-lr.pdf (the last page)

[ET1]

post a link EThttp://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/

Look at the right side under "All the news" and click a little around

[ET1]

post a link EThttp://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/

Look at the right side under "All the news" and click a little around

http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/

[ET1]

This might be one of your favourites:
http://www.vendeeglo...n-t-finish.html

[3 Days Left]

Ha!!! Very true potter.... wonder will all keels stay attached this time round?

If I was Thompson I'd be kind of worried, keel and mast are the only things that haven't broke on that boat yet...

But you're not, hence the reply from your office desk, but obviously without the aid of my new app, 'Surname spellcheck' which can spell them right.

[aquila]

so will the start be live online for us not in france?

[MR.CLEAN]

Yes!

[thetruth]

Good on yah Alex if anyone knows about not finishing it is you.................

Alex Thomson: "The French Favourites Won't Finish"
Alex Thomson fired the first shot across the boughs of his French rivals by saying he doubts the favourites in the new generation of open 60 boats will make it around the world.
He is not the only one talking about whether the new lighter, Verdier VPLP designed French boats (Banque Populaire 3, Macif, PRB, Virbac-Paprec 3) and Juan Kouyoumdjian's Cheminees Poujoulat, will finish, but most are whispering it beside the pontoon. Vincent Riou has already ruffled Arnaud Boissieres feathers by saying that the Farr designed boats are "like chewing gum" - Boissieres bought Riou's old 2008 Farr-designed PRB.
Thomson (who is also in a Farr-designed Hugo Boss) lobs this particular grenade from inside the spartan carbon shell that he hopes will be his home for three months. He is sitting in the small mission control station that will keep him updated with weather and in contact with the outside world and he keeps pulling the pins and no punches as the interview goes on.
"I just don't see most of them getting round the world," he says. "I think we'll see an attrition rate again of at least 50%."
"This is a confidence game and how confident are these guy really in their boats?" He asks? It's a rhetorical question. "I know a lot of people who don't believe in their boats. From the last Vendee Globe the rule (change) made one advantage and that was to be light and being light doesn't make you more reliable, it does the opposite. You've only got to go back and see some of the problems these guys have had. Yes, they've finished some races, but not without assistance and people in the teams…everybody is pretty nervous about it. If you ask me; 'am I sitting here in a position of strength?' No not really. I would like to be sitting on one of those boats probably if I had a choice, but I'm not. But it wouldn't surprise me if reliability in those five (there are actually six with Acciona Javier Sanso) new boats is worse than in the rest of the boats of fleet."
Thomson is in a second-generation boat, the old BT that Sebastien Josse sailed in the last Vendee, where he dropped out with rudder damage.
"It was a fast boat and we haven't done very much to change it, just tweaked it," he says. "To be honest, we've just concentrated on the reliability."
"This is the generation of boat beneath those and they have an advantage reaching (with wind coming perpendicular to the boat) for sure, it can be as big as one, one and a half, maybe even two knots. They've got much more volume in the bows those boats and they are also lighter. But what they've sacrificed by removing weight (PRB is supposed to be the lightest at 7.5 tonnes compared to Hugo Boss's 8 tonnes) is safety. Absolutely no doubt. Vincent's (Riou) boat is the lightest of all of them, allegedly. I don't know if it's true or not but everyone seems to say there are places on his deck where you are not able to stand (for fear of breaking the deck)."

[Terrorvision]

Where was that taken from? A fucking sailing sailing journalist using 'boughs' instead of 'bows'? I stopped reading there, the rest of the piece will clearly just be pointless fluff from a landlubber.....

[thetruth]

Scuttlebutt

[Terrorvision]

Scuttlebutt

Who, in turn, took it from the Vendee site who credit Matthew Pryor which doesn't sound like a French name so no excuse that it is 'lost in translation'.

[MR.CLEAN]

Scuttlebutt

Serves you right for reading it

By the way...I am fully crushing on this chick. The more you talk to her, the more beautiful she gets.

http://youtu.be/XVkyIGZNROg

[thetruth]

One yummy mummy

[Francis Vaughan]

Sigh.....

[MR.CLEAN]

Radio killed the video star...

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[mr_ryano]

Clean, Ronnie,

How many of the boats are using Future Fibres rigging and have they made any major changes to the rigging since the Volvo? I'm pretty sure Gamsea had FF rigging before the mast came down this summer

[MR.CLEAN]

Bernard Stamm:

[MSafiri]

Clean & Ronnie,

Good coverage, but slow down, employment is in jeopardy, cant keep up.....
Guys, the 5 hours live coverage on Sat..will that be recorded and made available for off line viewing? wont be able to watch it on Sat morning.

MSafiri

[ronnie_simpson]

Clean, Ronnie,

How many of the boats are using Future Fibres rigging and have they made any major changes to the rigging since the Volvo? I'm pretty sure Gamsea had FF rigging before the mast came down this summer

ooh, i'm sure i could put a number on it with a bit more time, but there are for sure several Future Fibers rigs in the fleet and several with Future Fibers standing rigging. Yes, Gamesa had FF rigging before the mast came down but that had nothing to do with the rig coming down and the rig itself never failed in the dismasting. That was an issue with the furler.

[forss]

Really interesting to see that every skipper likes Virbac Paprec.
Maybe to use it as One Design 60?

[MR.CLEAN]

Live talk show on the changing face of sponsorship starts in 3 hours. 7 PM local/1 PM EST/10 PM PST.

[nkb]

Really interesting to see that every skipper likes Virbac Paprec.
Maybe to use it as One Design 60?

NO NO NO NO! KEEP THE RULE OPEN!

[mr_ryano]

Really interesting to see that every skipper likes Virbac Paprec.
Maybe to use it as One Design 60?

There's as much respect for the man as the boat there

[mr_ryano]

Clean, Ronnie,

How many of the boats are using Future Fibres rigging and have they made any major changes to the rigging since the Volvo? I'm pretty sure Gamsea had FF rigging before the mast came down this summer

ooh, i'm sure i could put a number on it with a bit more time, but there are for sure several Future Fibers rigs in the fleet and several with Future Fibers standing rigging. Yes, Gamesa had FF rigging before the mast came down but that had nothing to do with the rig coming down and the rig itself never failed in the dismasting. That was an issue with the furler.

I know about the furler. Interested in the overall level of confidence in the product, and if there were design and/or production changes based on lessons learned from the VOR

[ronnie_simpson]

Really interesting to see that every skipper likes Virbac Paprec.
Maybe to use it as One Design 60?

that is a very hot topic within the IMOCA class at the moment. it's also quite interesting to see that jus like in presidential politics, these yacht racing class politics also seem to divide people 50/50. of all of the people we've talked to (the question is popped in several of Clean's interviews), it a very evenly divided split between maintaining the open prototype box rule vs. moving to a one-design rule.

before i got here, i was more in favor of adopting a one-design rule, but after seeing all of the boats and really learning the scene, i would vote to keep the rule open. we're all aware that the open rule creates a bit of an arms race and drives up the cost of being competitive at the front of the fleet, but in the end, this class is so deeply invested in an Open rule and prototypes driving innovation that I think a one-design rule would eventually kill the class.

in fact, when deciding what the topic of our world exclusive live talk show (goes live in just over two hours....) should be, it was either box rule vs. one design, or the changing face of sponsorship, so the whole one-design thing is a very relevant topic in the class right now.

[jb5]

The Open rule is the only way to go in my opinion. The innovation is such a huge part of IMOCA/VG. 20 boats on the line can't be bad in these difficult times.

Really enjoyed the interview with Bernard Stamm. Great job. Really rare to hear him in English. He has my vote. Any chance of a video boat tour?

[mad]

Scuttlebutt

Scuttlebutt=copy and paste

[mad]

One yummy mummy

You can always take a day off from being ass.

[Clovis]

Really enjoyed the interview with Bernard Stamm. Great job. Really rare to hear him in English. He has my vote. Any chance of a video boat tour?

I've liked him since I read this (wow 12 years ago!!!): http://www.liberatio...main-a-la-coque
Sorry it's in french, like this more recent portrait: http://nautisme.lefi...dotale-6403.php

C.

[forss]

Some other SA video interviews which have not posted here.
JP DICK - Paprec Virbac

Francois Gabard - Macif

Jean Le Cam - SynerCiel



great stuff, really enjoyed!
too bad that gabart's interview was too short. he seemed to have so much more to tell.

[Sebyseb]

Really enjoyed the interview with Bernard Stamm. Great job. Really rare to hear him in English. He has my vote. Any chance of a video boat tour?

I've liked him since I read this (wow 12 years ago!!!): http://www.liberatio...main-a-la-coque
Sorry it's in french, like this more recent portrait: http://nautisme.lefi...dotale-6403.php

C.

Epic...

Excellent Le Cam interview Clean, your French is really going well!

[Marvin]

Guys... awesome job on those interviews!

I have been watching french mainstream interviews for the past many years, yet you manage to bring something new and different to the screen... keep it up!

• Alan... was that an "I'm in love..." at the end of the chat with Sam
• The interview with Bernard was just plain fun!
• JP... so much insight and inspiration
• Francois... the future of the class
• Jean... speak s-l-o-w-l-y... see, it works!

Whos's next? Vincent and Armel, please...

[Lost in Translation]

Clean and Ronnie, awesome coverage. It is great! Thank you.

I'm getting caught up and noticed JP has curved boards now. Very cool. Do any other boats have curved boards? Are they powerful enough to give some substantial lift? I saw a pic of the boat sailing where it looked like he was getting the bow out in a semi foiling way like we do on the A Class. It would be great to spend some time on his boat if you can.

[Speng]

Awesome coverage. I don't think I've heard an interview with JPD before. I think the questions you posed him were excellent because unlike some of the other sailors who go the "normal route" his background is more like the typical sailor. Also he definitely looks and talks like he could be a California dude definitely a south of France guy. Jean le Cam is a great character and even though his English is not so good you get the same combination of humor and saltiness that comes out in his French.

Looking forward to some more boat crawls (would like some more info on rigging: are they self made rigging or do they use a supplier and halyard locks is anyone using mainsail locks like in the VOR) and would love to see LeCleac'h never seen interview with him. Also if Mich Des is around he will give a great interview.

[ronnie_simpson]

The Open rule is the only way to go in my opinion. The innovation is such a huge part of IMOCA/VG. 20 boats on the line can't be bad in these difficult times.

Really enjoyed the interview with Bernard Stamm. Great job. Really rare to hear him in English. He has my vote. Any chance of a video boat tour?

yes i did a boat tour of cheminees poujoulat and will finish editing it and give to clean for uploading. he has a very unique and very effective stacking system that no other boat has. interesting stuff. bernard was super cool!

would love to see LeCleac'h never seen interview with him. Also if Mich Des is around he will give a great interview.

we intereviewed armel yesterday. in english!

[ronnie_simpson]

noticed JP has curved boards now. Very cool. Do any other boats have curved boards? Are they powerful enough to give some substantial lift?\

did not get a tour of JP Dick's boat, but yes there are other boats in the fleet with curved boards. Virbac-Paprec obviously, and then Safran and PRB. All of them are VPLP designs. Safran older, the other two newer.

General sentiment is that they don't know if they are faster yet. every skipper we interviewed about the curved boards expressed this.

[Potter]

Safran has had curved boards since her build in 2007. They are now on Virbac and PRB as well. I remember watching Safran in the 2007 TJV and seeing how far out of the water she was on a reach.

Rigging is generally shared between Future Fibres, Carbolink and a few others.

I am not sure how many are using locks on main halyards, but certainly Gitana had them 4 years ago. Remember that some of the older skippers are used to racing on the multihulls that had locks a decade ago, for them it is an obvious choice.

[ronnie_simpson]

Really enjoyed the interview with Bernard Stamm. Great job. Really rare to hear him in English. He has my vote. Any chance of a video boat tour?

ask and ye shall receive

[MR.CLEAN]

Guys... awesome job on those interviews!

I have been watching french mainstream interviews for the past many years, yet you manage to bring something new and different to the screen... keep it up!

• Alan... was that an "I'm in love..." at the end of the chat with Sam
• The interview with Bernard was just plain fun!
• JP... so much insight and inspiration
• Francois... the future of the class
• Jean... speak s-l-o-w-l-y... see, it works!

Whos's next? Vincent and Armel, please...

OH YES. I am in love. Met Sam's parents last night. They're almost as lovely as she is!

[ronnie_simpson]

Tour the lightest, craziest, most extreme boat in the fleet: Vincent Riou's VPLP-designed PRB. He will either be stupid fast or break. Either way should be fun to watch Vincent.

[ronnie_simpson]

Tour the older Marc Lombard designed "Initiatives Couer", skippered by Tanguy de Lamotte to raise money to provide life-saving heart surgery for children in third world countries. Check out the video, but more importantly, "LIKE" them on facebook. Each "LIKE" gets 1 euro donated to help save a child's life. do it at http://www.facebook....nitiativescoeur

[Rail Meat]

You guys are out doing yourselves! Excellent work, and thank you. As much as I would love to be there and catching up with friends, this is almost as good.

[jb5]

Fantastic coverage. Really an awesome job guy's. Thank you.

[MR.CLEAN]

Pain in the ass Justin.TV has made my life miserable over the past 24 hours. We're moving to Ustream for the moment. Streaming the talk show from last night right now.

[twomasts]

Brilliant coverage. Really feel ready for the start now. Have you got Vincent Riou innerview coming up?

[ronnie_simpson]

Brilliant coverage. Really feel ready for the start now. Have you got Vincent Riou innerview coming up?

Riou interview was 2 days ago before the boat tour. Will check with Clean. Should be online soon.

[40Plus]

Good job guys although better lighting would have been good for the below decks tour of PRB! Very Interesting to compare Stamm's Boat and Riou's, two very different beasts, and I think beast is the appropriate term for Stamm's boat.

[ronnie_simpson]

Good job guys although better lighting would have been good for the below decks tour of PRB! Very Interesting to compare Stamm's Boat and Riou's, two very different beasts, and I think beast is the appropriate term for Stamm's boat.

yeah, very very very few people even get allowed to crawl around these dark carbon fiber boats with a camera, so sometimes we have to take what we can get.

clean just interviewed Alessandro di Benedetto. The dude is hilarious! Very entertaining interview!

[pogen]

Pain in the ass Justin.TV has made my life miserable over the past 24 hours. We're moving to Ustream for the moment. Streaming the talk show from last night right now

Is there a reason you guys don't use YouTube? They can do live streaming to very large audiences, e.g. ACWS.

[40Plus]

Good job guys although better lighting would have been good for the below decks tour of PRB! Very Interesting to compare Stamm's Boat and Riou's, two very different beasts, and I think beast is the appropriate term for Stamm's boat.

yeah, very very very few people even get allowed to crawl around these dark carbon fiber boats with a camera, so sometimes we have to take what we can get.


clean just interviewed Alessandro di Benedetto. The dude is hilarious! Very entertaining interview!

Totally understand, Just hungry to see the details is all, you guys are doing a great job. By interviewing the skippers and getting onboard the boats it's adding another dimension to the race that we here in North America haven't had. Don't know if I've been this excited about a race that I'll only be able to watch watch online.

[ronnie_simpson]

Don't know if I've been this excited about a race that I'll only be able to watch watch online.

you should be bro. this is the first vendee ive been to, but everyone ive talked to agrees that this is the most equal, competitve fleet of all time. there is literally no clear favorite at all. there are about 5 probables to win the race and 10 who could realistically win it. after that, there's a few more who could mix it up in the middle of the fleet and potentitally crack top 5-7. this race is going to be ridiculous.

[Roleur]

Shit. We arrive tomorrow and I just read that the pontoon closes for good tonight. Fffffuuuuuuuuu......dge

Can you still see the boats from somewhere nearby?

Damn.

[Jambalaya]

Arrived in Les Sables today, the race village is buzzing, pontoons mobbed. Such a great vibe as you only find at truley special events and a sense of what these skippers are about to undertake. Fun to see skippers past and present wandering past, can't believe they appear so composed.

[Icedtea]

College was going ok, but with the Vendée on I'm failing this year. Can't fucking wait til the start

[oioi]

Clean, ronnie - really enjoying the coverage, excellent job.

Now if you really wanted to get some bonus points, a daily (ok i will accept weekly) synopsis and interpretation on the race, strategies being played out and options available from someone with good inside knowledge (brian thompson. Mich desj? Loick?) posted here would be really fucking cool.

And you need to go and find b2s and bring him back, i miss his weather contributions

[diggler]

Many many thanks for the interviews and boat tours guys. For the first time for me, the names have faces and, along with their boats, stories. As a result I actually care about this race, and how each story continues to unfold, on a visceral level rather than just the usual boat dork techno weenie level.

I really wish we could get even a fraction of this kind of English language coverage for some of the other big events like the TJV and RdR.

[forss]

http://www.blur.se/2...at-walk-through

alex and mike commenting boats at the dockside

and great photos about details of the boats (link)




just spent several good hours watching

[HASYB]

Chapeau pour des intrevues, mon Propre, I really enjoyed them especially Sam, JP, Bernard. Ehhh... well they were all great.
A hat for you too Ronny.


PS. What did the MOD 70 guys say about your plan to cover the MOD 70 more extensively next year.

[Left Hook]

College was going ok, but with the Vendée on I'm failing this year. Can't fucking wait til the start

You should try following the volvo AND playing the volvo game. Losing focus in class and hours of sleep in order to change courses.... it was bad.

[forss]

if anyone is interested in IMOCA 60 history, then you should check out this link, where you see history of every IMOCA ever built starting from 1989.
http://www.histoired...ste des 60'.htm

[3 Days Left]

Agreed, coverage so far, has set a benchmark. No-one has ever got close, and some 'pay-per-go' sites still are no way near.
Full Respect Mister Clean, Mister Simson, the big man of course, and all concerned. Thanks

[MR.CLEAN]

Thanks much boys!

Seriously appreciate it and glad you can tell how much work we are putting in. For your edification, here's what's coming up.

That fucking Cocktail Hour is now up (and thanks for pointing it out whoever found it in the other thread). It is here and VERY interesting. http://new.livestrea.../videos/5911136

If that doesn't work, try here: http://www.justin.tv...chy/b/338573420


Tomorrow we have our final two interviews, and we had to go to some serious lengths to get them! Then tomorrow afternoon i have a rehearsal for the live coverage, then I should be able to get most or all of the rest of the videos up. We'll be posting Ronnie's written analysis of all the boats too, and there are still a couple of video boat tours left to post, not sure when they will come. Got Alessandro and Dominique today. Dom: "Anarchy is the first thing I read in the morning." Alessandro Di Benedetto (with the only fixed keel in the fleet): "I challenge the other skippers that they can't beat me if they lock their keels on centerline" and "My goal is to be first place, fixed keel division". Funny as shit.

We'll continue to trickle in coverage for the first few days - we have a 15 minute interview with Philippe, the head of the company that produces the Vendee and Volvo Virtual races - turns out to be fascinating. Did you know Mich Dej is going to be playing the Vendee Globe game?? And that there are sponsored teams in virtual racing? It's a good one.

Plus Bruce Schwab on his return to Les Sables, how the race has changed, and how what he, and others like him, are doing - putting energy efficient and lightweight batteries along with solar panels and controllers, high output alternators and regulators - is really changing how power is supplied in both racing and cruising.

By tomorrow night we'll both have our Form Guides up - ronnie and I are each picking our top 5 and our first 3 to break, plus an over/under on the finishing fleet size.

Saturday we'll have the live start at zero dark 30 on the front page, with me commentating the official english language feed. Saturday night is likely to be a ridiculous, knock-down free-for-all party amongst the shore crew/preparateurs, media, broadcast, and comms people, and VG staff. Sunday at 4 AM I take Ronnie and french anarchist Romain to Paris so Ronnie can make a 1200 flight. Then drop off Romain, dinner with some old friends, and off to Roissy myself for a late overnight flight to Dubai.

And then we'll be covering the fuck out of the race for 3 months, and I will do everything in my power to be here for the finish. Ronnie too.

[SR CHIEF (RET)]

Awesome job you guys! I am a bit late... My question, is celestial navigation , or how many skippers are profficient in celestial? Is there a requirement for sights? Thanks!

[Sebyseb]

Anarchy the only site in the world where Yanks praise the Frogs for doing something right and find Vendée (the region) amazing...
Merci Monsieur Propre!

If you see Roland jourdain (Bilou), please get his interview, he is a fantastic sailor, lots of fun on interview, and it is very sad not to see him on the star tline this year

[MSafiri]

20minutes.fr is running stories about Vendee Globe since a week, Thalassa (a regular program about sea and life around sea) in France 3 is doing a film this evening about the region, I expect they will show some of the boats. BUT, none of them can beat SA. Interviews are great! 'Roi' Jean was excellent! Now time to collect all the videos, download them and watch them while on the train to the boat.

Clean, Ronnie, you just screwed yourself for good! this is the standard expected from you guys now on

[Keith]

Excellent work, its great to see the boats up close, inside and out. Well done !!!!!

What is the UTC start time for the live broadcast??

thank you!!!!!!!

[MR.CLEAN]

bilou was sure dancing last night!

[MR.CLEAN]

20minutes.fr is running stories about Vendee Globe since a week, Thalassa (a regular program about sea and life around sea) in France 3 is doing a film this evening about the region, I expect they will show some of the boats. BUT, none of them can beat SA. Interviews are great! 'Roi' Jean was excellent! Now time to collect all the videos, download them and watch them while on the train to the boat.

Clean, Ronnie, you just screwed yourself for good! this is the standard expected from you guys now on

As long as companies like Bruce Schwab Energy Systems, Doyle Sails NZ, WhiteCap LTD, and LINE HONORS - Yacht Racing Outfitters keep supporting what we do, we'll keep raising the bar. And that means you should go check out their website and maybe even send them an email thanking them!

It has taken 7 years and thousands of hours to invent our own way of covering an event, and we'd never have been able to get to this point without all of you in the audience, as well as nearly a hundred companies' support.

Keith Mills interview coming up soon - I might upload the audio for the press conference in a minute (about OSM - the new management company charged with maximizing IMOCA's commercial opportunities in a recently announced deal).

[pixie fishmonkey]

Agreed, coverage so far, has set a benchmark. No-one has ever got close, and some 'pay-per-go' sites still are no way near.
Full Respect Mister Clean, Mister Simson, the big man of course, and all concerned. Thanks

+1000,000 Fantastic coverage for those of us who cannot be there, thanks.

[MR.CLEAN]

This press conference finished an hour ago. Sir Keith Mills on how his new OSM company is going to go about developing the commercial potential in the IMOCA class and Vendee Globe. Very exciting news, frankly.

[ronnie_simpson]

bilou was sure dancing last night!

i had the pleasure of chatting with Bilou last night for about an hour. coolest. most down to earth. funniest. guy. ever.

totally see why he's such a legend!!! massive love to Bilou!

[ronnie_simpson]

Guys, as far as coverage, I am going to continue covering this race throughout it's entirety and I fully intend to be here at the finish. Way too invested to stop following the race now!!

I am planning a weekly or 2 weekly articles about the race, strategy playing out, etc. Clean and I also have a couple of skippers who are happy to be interviewed DURING the Vendee.

thanks for the kind words everyone. Very inspring to keep going!

As far as TJV, Route du Rhum and everything else cool over here, I may soon become SA's english speaking French-based correspondent

[MR.CLEAN]

As the world's economic climate continues to cool, sponsorship money and partnership support for every level of sailing is becoming tougher and tougher to find. Even proven performers like Franck Cammas and Roland Jourdain are having serious trouble in the 'brave new world' of professionally sponsored racing, and it seems like very few people have a handle on what it takes - and will take - in the constantly and rapidly evolving world of marketing, branding, and sponsorship. We grabbed an extremely qualified group of experts to discuss it all with you in our first On-The-Water Anarchy 'Cocktail Hour' in a long time. The live stream was a little messy (hence our move to a new streaming provider), but with the help of our production team of Ronnie Simpson and Emma Creighton, the panel rocked it with a fun and informative session that anyone interested in sponsored racing needs to watch. If you’d rather save a link to watch later, you can find that here. Guests: Luc Talbourdet, President IMOCA Xavier David, Team Manager Saveol/Sam Davies Dee Caffari, First/Only Female Triple Circumnavigator Bruce Schwab, First US Vendee Competitor in History Stew Hosford, Team Director Alex Thomson Racing/Hugo Boss

[MR.CLEAN]

If you don't mind your ears bleeding, here's 4 minutes in French with me and presenter Melanie talking to France Bleu - with an audience of hundreds of thousands.

[MSafiri]

As long as companies like Bruce Schwab Energy Systems, Doyle Sails NZ, WhiteCap LTD, and LINE HONORS - Yacht Racing Outfitters keep supporting what we do, we'll keep raising the bar. And that means you should go check out their website and maybe even send them an email thanking them!...............

Been there, down that.....small contribution....